Bad News for Obama on the Transgender Bathroom Front: Majority of Americans Back Trump’s Stance

Despite critics’ furor over President Donald Trump’s recent decision to rescind an Obama-era policy that implored public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity, a new poll has found that more Americans align with Trump on the contentious issue than they do former president Barack Obama.

A Rasmussen Reports survey conducted last week found that 49 percent of American adults opposed allowing transgender students to use bathrooms of the opposite biological gender; meanwhile, 38 percent said this should be permitted, while 12 percent of the country remained uncertain.

As Faithwire previously reported, the Trump administration recently overturned the Obama administration’s letter to schools last May, which essentially threatened institutions with the loss of federal funding if they did not abide by the letter’s terms.

Trump’s move has sparked quite a bit of attention and debate, considering the ongoing cultural battle over transgender rights.

The Departments of Justice and Education issued a joint “dear colleague” letter on Feb. 22, charging that the Obama administration’s previous “colleague” letter to public schools didn’t properly address the previous administration’s interpretation of Title IX discrimination law, nor did it undergo what the newfound letter calls a “formal public process.”

The move essentially puts the power to make decisions about transgender bathroom policies back in the hands of states and local communities — something the American public is widely supportive of, according to the Rasmussen survey.

In fact, the poll found that 28 percent of American adults said states should be responsible for these policies, with an additional 36 percent saying the local government should have that role. In all, just 28 percent supported the federal government setting transgender bathroom policies.

It should be noted that there was an increase in support for allowing transgender kids to use bathrooms of the opposite biological gender from 33 percent last May to 38 percent this month. Opposition, however, is down only slightly from 51 percent at that time to 49 percent in the latest data wave.

The Rasmussen poll, which was conducted from Feb. 22-23, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Read more about the results here.